Sunday, October 18, 2009

A Column by Derek K. for OWW on well regarded workers like SD Jones brought the following responsefrom Harvey McCarthy. McCarthy's piece in turn raises the question - "If it's the job of the booker to fill arenas, why do some bookers downcard wrestlers with huge fan followings?" The answer, according to Dusty Rhodes - "vindictive booking.""Harvey McCarthy wrote: ......I don’t think wrestling fans today appreciate what we had in the 1980s. I remember when Jim Powers and Paul Roma were repackaged into winners. They had a reverse decision over the Harts with the help of Mr. T. It was the start of the Young Stallions. Unfortunately, those two men didn’t get along and Vince broke them up. How about when PJ Walker pinned Mike Rotundo on Raw? He became Aldo Montoya not long afterwards. The fact that the “upset” could happen kept us tuned in through out all the other squash matches. Eventually, wrestling switched from pure jobbers to guys that promotions, especially WCW, wanted to bury. Tom Zenk is the best example of someone who many fans consider a jobber because of the way his career ended. He was brought into WCW to be a star. According to online interviews, he was supposed to have been a top five babyface. In the end, he was used to make other guys look good. Ironically, like Lanny Poffo in the WWF, they both started at the top of the card, but ended at the bottom when the bookers changed. Zenk, like Poffo, made good money but their careers stalled when they became “Jobbers to the Stars.” Oddly enough, like SD Jones and Iron Mike Sharpe, they had huge fan followings. Now, wrestling seems to be the same guys recycled over and over again. Why would I care that John Cena is going to face Shawn Michaels at Summer Slam, for example, when they have wrestled 20 times on TV already this year?"